15 Ways To Avoid The Freshman 15

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Hello, future college students of America. First off, you’re annoying and I hate you. You’re about to be thrust into the blissfully independent lifestyle of the American college student. Of course, there’s a kicker when it comes to the most fun 4-6 years of your life, the dreaded freshman 15. It’s damn near impossible to avoid, between late night pizza places on every corner, and the obscene quantities of alcohol you’ll consume. You’re probably about to blow up like Betty Francis did in the last season of Mad Men. As a survivor of the freshman 15, here are some simple things you can do to try to avoid packing on the pounds.

1. Think about the fact that if you get fat as shit you no longer get have sex with hot people. That’s not to say that you won’t hook up anymore, but the quality of your sexual partners will likely dip with every pound you put on. Hot people only have sex with other hot people. That’s just as constant a law as gravity. Pretty sure Newton wrote about it.

2. Your five-minute walk to class does not constitute exercise, and that walk will get a little harder with every roll your stomach gains. Hit the gym every once in awhile. Losing weight is absurdly easy in your late teens and early 20s. Exercising your liver doesn’t help.

3. If you’re eating after 10pm and you’re not drunk, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself when you can’t fit into any of your clothes at Christmas break.

4. Get in a shit ton of trouble. You’ll have run a marathon’s worth of distance from the cops in no time at all. Burns calories, and gives you great stories to tell over lunch.

5. Picture the disgust on people’s faces when you take your shirt off on Spring Break.

6. None of your future pledges will be able to take you seriously as a hard ass if you’re a fat ass. There’s a difference between “intimidating power gut” and just being a tub of lard.

7. Mix in a salad or soup every once in awhile. Stay away from the regular lunch buffet every now and then. If you eat the garbage that your house chef or dining hall cook puts out on the buffet every night, you’re going to put on some serious pounds.

8. Everyone is gaining weight, so it’s easy to get caught up in the “everyone’s doing it” excuse. Bullshit. Yeah, everyone’s gaining weight, but that’s no excuse to make a second trip to the fro-yo machine. Also, frozen yogurt is not healthier than ice cream, especially when you load absurd amounts of chocolate and candy on top, idiots.

10. Watch an episode of The Biggest Loser before every meal. Imagine someone filming you eating the meal you’re about to eat in slow motion with sad piano music in the background. Opt for some fruit or something not deep fried instead of a heaping pile of fries.

11. Eat with members of the opposite sex. In a perfect world, power-eating would be a potent aphrodisiac, but it isn’t. It’s just gross.

12. Don’t eat when you’re stressed out. Head to the gym or go on a quick run to release powerful endorphins that will make you feel good. It’s science. Check it out.

13. Imagine that first piece of XL clothing you’ll have to buy. S-L are normal-sized person clothes and you’re about to enter the world of Big & Tall. That’s embarrassing.

14. Use tobacco. Sure, it will take years off of your life and completely ruin your mouth, tongue and lungs, but nicotine has been shown to speed up the metabolism process, burn fat and can be used as an appetite suppressant. Just know that you have to quit at some point and you’re shortening your life expectancy with every cig and lipper you put in your mouth.

15. Do tons of drugs and never sleep.

Look, the Freshman 15 is almost completely unavoidable, and obviously I’m kidding about several of these tips. You’re going to gain weight, no matter what. There’s food and booze at your beck and call at all hours of the day, no parents to tell you “no” and plenty of peer pressure. That said, you get those 15 pounds. That’s the house money given to you when you walk in the door. After that, you’re on the hook for becoming a disgusting human being. In reality, if you work out three or four days a week and watch what you eat every couple of days, you should be fine.

This column is entertaining and funny don’t get me wrong but I do not like the fact that you are writing to “future college students of America.” Unfortunately enough high school kids already visit this website but by publishing articles directed towards them, it is going to make this “high school frat star” epidemic much worse.

I’m not personally one to give a shit about dieting, but it’s true what they say about your big meals coming first. Always eat breakfast if you can, and don’t skimp on it. Plus breakfast is fucking awesome anyway.

^^^^ FALSE. Calories in Calories out is not the key to fat loss. Fat loss is determined by your bodies hormonal response to the foods you eat. Calories is part of the equation but the bigger part is insulin. When you eat foods like carbohydrates and simple sugars your body produces insulin to break down the foods and burn them as glucose. Everything that is not burned is stored as fat, and you cannot start to burn fat until you have already burnt the glucose. If you eat foods like protein and vegetables your body continually burns fat for fuel (even for activities like sitting, sleeping, etc) rather then having to burn off a bunch of glucose then store whats left in fat. So your insulin sensitivity (which is individual, why some people stay thin) and what you eat determines fat loss, not CALORIES IN CALORIES OUT which IS A MYTH. Science has disproven calories in-out.

Also working out in the morning before you eat is a good idea, because you are usually coming off a 10-12 hour fast and have already depleted your glycogen/glucose stores so if you workout before you add any more fuel to the equation you directly start burning fat. Its all about insulin sensitivity people. It’s SCIENCE. I bet the same people who say “calories in, calories out” also do sit ups and crunches to try and get a six pack… lol.